Burlingame wins first CCS title since 2004

Add in another dominant defensive performance and it added up to Burlingame winning its first CCS title since 2004, a 38-0 shellacking of the Scots.

“This is why we’ve been grinding every day,” said Burlingame senior lineman Noah Lavulo, who set the tone on both sides of the ball. “This is it. We did it.”

With many expecting both teams to bludgeon each other with their ground attacks, Burlingame (11-2) flipped the script and came out throwing more than usual and the Panthers made Carlmont (10-3) pay. Junior quarterback Jordan Malashus connected on his first five passes, two of which went for scores.

“They were sitting on our receivers and the slot was wide open,” Malashus said. “Offensively, we wanted to put up points, whether it was running or passing. Our passing opened [the running game] up for us.”

It was a special night for the Malashus family as Jordan Malashus’ twin brother, Devon, had the best game of his varsity career. While Jordan Malashus has been the team’s starting quarterback all season, Devon Malashus has really come on over the last several weeks. Saturday was his crowning achievement. He caught Burlingame’s first scoring pass for the first touchdown of the game, threw a crushing block that sprung running back Lucas Meredith for the Panthers’ second score of the night, and to cap his night, tossed a 35-yard touchdown pass to Chase Funkhouser on a trick play.

“I just got more reps,” Devon Malashus said in explaining his late-season surge. “Something clicked, I think against King’s Academy (Oct. 19).”

While the Burlingame offense was racking up 321 yards of total offense, the Panthers’ defense was shutting down a third straight playoff opponent. The Panthers limited the Scots to 79 yards of offense and just four first downs — their best showing during a playoff run that saw them maul three opponents. Burlingame held Mountain View to just 117 yards in the CCS opener and limited Overfelt to just 132 yards in the CCS semifinals.

“Our defense was really stout up front,” said Burlingame head coach John Philipopoulos. “Light out. Unbelievable performance by the defense. Kids executed to a T.”

The Panthers had the task of shutting down Carlmont’s potent running game and did so with aplomb. Scots running back Julian Morin provided all of his team’s offense, rushing for 79 yards on 16 carries. Already shorthanded with an injury to standout linebacker Jayden Kuhn, who injured his knee in the fourth quarter of the Scots’ 28-21 win over Independence in the semifinals, Carlmont took another hit when junior running back Jonaven Kuhn separated his shoulder early in the second quarter Saturday night.

“I was trying to find anything on the play card that would work,” said Carlmont head coach Jake Messina. “But those (Burlingame) guys were closing gaps really quick.”

Carlmont looked up to the challenge early as the Scots appeared to pick up a first down on their second play of the game. But a personal foul pushed them back and they ended up punting.

Then Burlingame went to work, scoring on the first of four consecutive drives of the first half. Not even a pair of penalties on the initial drive could stop the Panthers as they needed six plays to go 53 yards. After a Jordan Malashus 19-yard pass to Meredith picked up a first down, the Malashus hookup materialized. On third-and-four from the Carlmont 29, Jordan Malashus rolled right and fired a deep pass to Devon Malashus, who made a great adjustment and out-leapt the defensive back to haul in a 29-yard touchdown pass. Taylor Kaufman’s booming extra point gave Burlingame a 7-0 lead just over seven minutes into the game.

“It was a perfectly placed ball,” Devon Malashus said.

Carlmont picked up its initial first down on its next drive, a 12-yard run by Morin, but the drive went nowhere and the Scots were forced to punt again. The Panthers took over a midfield and needed five plays to find the end zone. Meredith, who finished with 122 yards rushing on 14 carries, ripped off a 17-yard run down to the Carlmont 15 and then rumbled into the end zone from 15 yards out on the next play. He appeared penned in at the line of scrimmage, but he bounced it outside. Devon Malashus was leading the way and threw a monster seal block that sprung Meredith. As he got to the 3-yard line, Meredith trucked a would-be tackler and went in for a 14-0 Burlingame lead.

It was 21-0 a little more than three minutes later as the Burlingame defense forced a third straight Carlmont punt and them converted for a third straight score. It took only three plays for Jordan Malashus to hit Kaufman, who hauled in an over-the-shoulder, 33-yard touchdown pass, one that he pinned against his shoulder pad to maintain control.

Philipopoulos went into his bag of tricks late in the first half, turning to the double pass for a 28-0 lead. Jordan Malashus threw a lateral to Devon Malashus, who pulled up and heaved a ball downfield to a wide-open Funkhouser. Initially, it appeared the ball was overthrown as Funkhouser looked to give up on the play.

But he suddenly thrust out both arms, cradled to ball over his shoulder and went into the end zone for the fourth touchdown of the game with 2:21 left in the first half.

“I had the option to run or pass,” Devon Malashus said. “The safety was slow getting over and he was wide open. [Funkhouser] made a great catch.”

The Panthers received the second-half kickoff and embarked on their longest drive of the game, moving from their own 25 to the Carlmont 18 on 12 plays before Kaufman booted a 35-yard field goal for a 31-0 Burlingame lead. Meredith capped the scoring late in the third quarter as he scored his second touchdown of the night, this one on a 19-yard scamper.

“This is huge for our program,” Philipopoulos said, adding he hoped that the team’s success would spark renewed interest and participation in the sport.

“To come out here and win … it’s great for the school and great for the football community. We’ve had a great season.”